I am my mother's healthcare Medical Power of Attorney. She has been admitted to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation. She has a hearing tomorrow morning if she will be released or involuntarily committed. There are no legal charges, but she has been appointed a public defender.
Despite my status as her MPOA, the hospital has not provided ANY information. I live in a different town, so was not present when things got bad. I've found out from neighbors and family that she did not take her sleeping medications for several days and lost mental stability - she has bipolar disorder. She lost touch with reality and began behaving in a bizarre and unsafe manner.
I have tried to find out what the circumstances were that brought her into the hospital, what meds she has been given, what lab tests were done and what the results were. I was denied this information despite providing originals of the MPOA which were copied and put in her chart. They would not even access the H&P for me.
To complicate matters, she is deaf and they did not assess her need for an interpreter nor provide one for 4 days, despite being informed daily by family members that the patient cannot hear and needs an interpreter.
Her hearing is tomorrow morning at 0900. I have not been able to find out if I am even going to be allowed to be present for the hearing. Any advice or information you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
If she has a public defender, what is the charge? What is being defended?